Share
©Grexsys - Getty Images
Home buyers should expect to bid way over the asking price in Austin, Texas. The city has homes fetching the highest amounts over asking price in the country—$100,000 or more.
Nearly 2,700 homes in Austin have sold this year for $100,000 or more above the initial listing price, according to an analysis from Redfin, which examined sales records through Aug. 11. Researchers note that some U.S. cities have seen more properties sell at a premium, but no other city has seen prices consistently stretch so far above the list price.
“As a consumer, it seems scary to be in a housing market where the home you’re looking at [is] priced at $400,000, then when you go to put in an offer, you realize the true price is $500,000,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, told The Wall Street Journal. Austin has seen rapid growth in young professionals moving to the area and more companies are relocating to the city, offering a robust job market and housing growth.
While not nearing Austin’s numbers, Seattle and Oakland, Calif., also has seen a much higher number of homes are selling for at least $100,000 above the listing price, according to Redfin’s analysis.
A limited stock of homes for sale across the country has been pushing up prices over the past year. In May, 50% of homes sold for more than their list prices nationwide—a record high, Redfin reports.
“If you want to win, you have to place a super aggressive offer,” home buyer Francisco Ortego told The Wall Street Journal. After losing out on seven prior offers made on homes for sale, he and his wife paid nearly $100,000 above the asking price for a four-bedroom home in Austin in April.